High BMI and sleeve

[Purdy 0]

Hi, I am from London, England and have been lurking around reading posts on this wonderful website for a few weeks now. I am really grateful to you all for posting it is so very helpful to us pre-opers.

I have noticed that many of you (if not all) have starting BMI's of under 40.

I was wondering if there is anyone here who had a BMI over 40 and has had satisfactory weight loss with the sleeve. My BMI is 41. The sleeve is my choice of surgery but my surgeon would prefer me to have a bypass. His reasoning is that the bypass is reversible and that he doesn't think I would achieve a satisfactory weight loss with the sleeve. I have a huge amount of respect for my Surgeon and so am trying to make sense of his advice and reconcile with my views.

I really don't want a band or bypass because I would like everything to function as it should but on a smaller scale. I am a volume eater and also binge sometimes.

Purdy

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

Hi, I am from London, England and have been lurking around reading posts on this wonderful website for a few weeks now. I am really grateful to you all for posting it is so very helpful to us pre-opers.

I have noticed that many of you (if not all) have starting BMI's of under 40.

I was wondering if there is anyone here who had a BMI over 40 and has had satisfactory weight loss with the sleeve. My BMI is 41. The sleeve is my choice of surgery but my surgeon would prefer me to have a bypass. His reasoning is that the bypass is reversible and that he doesn't think I would achieve a satisfactory weight loss with the sleeve. I have a huge amount of respect for my Surgeon and so am trying to make sense of his advice and reconcile with my views.

I really don't want a band or bypass because I would like everything to function as it should but on a smaller scale. I am a volume eater and also binge sometimes.

Purdy

Hello Purdy... welcome to the forum!

Bypass is reversible theoretically but if you have bypass you have to assume it will be permanent. It is a very difficult procedure to reverse bypass and many times it cannot be done. I'd say most times it should not be done.

Your BMI is 41, it's really not all that high. When I think of a high BMIer I'm thinking 70+BMI. I was banded with a BMI of 41 (hardest surgery to lose weight) and I lost 100% of my excess weight.

Bypass is a harder surgery. Harder recovery, harder maintenance, harder on your body, and a lifetime of aftercare. It's great for some people but it's not my cup of tea.

There are many sleeved folks that are higher BMI folks and they are doing very well with a sleeve alone.

If you get bypass and fail (as one in five do) your options for a revision are poor. If you fail with a sleeve your options for a revision are wide open.

[Tiffykins 673]

I am a band to sleeve revision, so my situation is a little different, but I'll chime in with my opinion.

I started the sleeve surgery with a BMI of 47. My surgeon believes that the sleeve is successful for patients who are volume eaters, and those who had success with a restrictive procedure only. I lost weight with the band initially, then gained once I started having complications. I've never heard of the bypass being reversible. I'm 23 days post-op and have lost 25lbs.

The sleeve was my best option. Another surgeon that is a colleague to my surgeon talked to me right before surgery, and told me that he would of recommended a band to bypass revision. I told him, but you know nothing about me, my eating habits, my lifestyle, or my weight loss goals. He said well most people would want it that way, and I replied with there are plenty of people who do not want bypass, and I'm one of them. I didn't want to deal with malabsorption and the weight regain stats of the bypass are a cause for concern in my opinion.

[Elisabethsew 50]

A BMI of 41 is not considered high and many patients here can't get weight loss surgery paid for if their BMI is less than 40. I was 295 pounds and lost 10 pounds on the pre-op diet putting me at 285 the day of surgery. The last time I weighed (weekly), I was down 27 pounds from the date of surgery and 37 pounds overall. You'll do great with the sleeve if that's what you choose to do.

[MacMadame 81]

My BMI was 41 when I started looking in WLS. It was lower when I had the surgery but that's because it took 7 months and I lost 32 lb. during that time.

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

There are a lot of people who have a bmi way over 41 and have lost all the excess weight.

The sleeve is going to take over the by pass in years to come in my opinion. So many people with bypass gain their weight back. There is no reason to have a procedure that causes malabsorption when the sleeve has just as good weight loss.

You will do great with a sleeve. You have come to the right place! We all love our sleeve and you will too!

Welcome to sleeve talk!

[Purdy 0]

Thank you all very much for your replies. You have reassured me that I have made the right decision. I am still a little puzzled about the advice from my surgeon but I think his doubts are based on his lack of experience of the sleeve as a stand alone procedure. Four years ago I almost had a band fitted and backed out at the last moment. My children were then very young and I probably just wasn't ready. I have also tried many, many years of analysis (v. unusual in uk) but don't seem to be getting anywhere and I feel that life is passing me by. I am so glad I didn't have the band. I would probably still be here asking about the sleeve!

This forum is great!

Thanks again.

Purdy

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

Chances are if you would have gotten the band, you be getting a revision surgery to a sleeve like so many of us here.

[Jessica Ellison-Correa 66]

i know you might not ever read this but my bmi is 51 and my doctor is letting me get sleeve